I Want To Buy A House...Now What?
OK, so you have decided to pursue your dream of home ownership, but you have no idea what to do next? This step by step guide should at least get you moving in the right direction!
1. GET PREQUALIFIED WITH A LENDER-With all of the mortgage hoopla going on these days, your best bet is to get prequalified with a lender before you start your home search. That way you will find out up front how much home you can afford, how much down you will need to bring to closing, and if you have any homework to do. If you have any dings or dents on your credit, you may need to get those sorted out. The best part about this is that you will know exactly what price range to start your search in. If you tell your lender how much you want your monthly payment to be, they will be able to tell you the corresponding price range that you should stay in and if you qualify for that amount.
If you don't know a lender, you can do a web search, look in the phone book, or even ask a Realtor. Most Realtors have a lender or two that they can recommend and they would be happy to get you in contact with them. I personally have about four lenders that I use and they all do a great job. Dena Wilcox with First Mortgage is a great lender, and you can even fill out an application online. Check her website out at www.firstmortgageco.com/dwilcox.
2. START SEARCHING FOR HOUSES-You can grab the magazines at the grocery store where you can usually find one photo of the property and some teaser verbiage. But bear in mind that those ads are geared toward getting you to get on the phone and give them a call. You can also drive around neighborhoods that you are interested in, particularly on the weekends when open houses are likely to occur. Of course, with today's gas prices that isn't necessarily a cost effective way to get started.
There is so much information available on the Internet today so that is probably the best place to start. Most good websites will have a detailed description of the property, multiple photos, and even virtual tours. You may even be able to find mortgage calculators, information about the area schools and neighborhoods, as well as other valuable information needed when making a home purchase decision. My website has a great home search tool which you can find at http://www.4saleokc.com/Featured_Homes/page_1768698.html.
3. PICK A REALTOR-The home buying process can be very fun and exciting but there are also many things that can come up along the way. Most of them are fairly simple to overcome but it can be reassuring when you have a professional working along beside you as you go through the process. While you are doing your home searches, you no doubt will also see many Realtor profiles along the way. When you find a website that you like and you come across a Realtor that you feel like you might be comfortable working with, you can send a quick email or make a little phone call to get some more information about that person and determine if you might like working with them. This will definitely save you time (and, again with gas prices today, money) when you are ready to start actually looking at properties. You can check out my profile at http://www.4saleokc.com/About_Us/page_1693466.html.
Additionally, most Realtors will be able to set up an automatic listing notifier for you if you are interested in this service. You will actually start to receive automated email notification any time a new listing comes on the market that meets the criteria you are looking for. You can sign up for automatic listing notification through my website at http://www.4saleokc.com/Home_Search/page_1768707.html.
4. START TOURING HOMES-By this point, you have really done your homework, you should have a pretty good idea of how much you are going to spend on your new home, and you most likely have seen some houses that have really piqued your curiousity. So, now is the time to start visiting these homes in person. You can just call or email your Realtor and give them a list of the homes you would like to tour. They will be able to set up a day or two in order to go visit these homes. It is usually best to plan ahead and give at least 24 hours notice in order to be courteous to the current home owner.
When you start visiting homes, look at more than just the house itself. Check out the neighborhood as you drive to the home. When you pull up to the house itself, check out the street you will potentially be living on. If you have children, find out how far the schools are from the house and if there are any neighborhood parks nearby. Once you start touring the home, try and look past the owners belongings and really see the house. Try and look past fashionable decor and make sure the "bones" of the house are solid. Are there cracks in the sheetrock other than the minor, normal cracking you find in Oklahoma. What condition is the flooring in? Is there mildow or missing grout in the kitchen or bathroom? Will the home come with window treatments? Also, if the home is cluttered or messy, try and look past that as well. Unfortunately many sellers shoot themselves in the foot by not decluttering or simply cleaning up a messy house before a showing. Remember, those things are temporary and if the bones of the house are great, it may be something worth purchasing.
5. HOW LONG DOES THE PROCESS TAKE?-I have worked with clients that have looked for months on end before they found the house they finally wrote an offer for. And I have had clients walk into the first home that I have shown then and write an offer without seeing another house. The great thing about technology today is that when utilized properly, it really can help you make an informed decision about purchasing a house without having the need to view 20 houses. You can see for yourself which homes are on the market and how quickly they are selling.
Once you have written an offer on a property, you should typically have an answer from the seller within 24 hours. After you have an accepted contract, the title work and loan process begin. It usually takes about 1-2 weeks for the title work to be completed. However, the loan process can take a little longer than that. If you are getting a conventional loan, that process can usually be complete within 3 weeks. FHA loans are taking a little longer right now because so many buyers in today's market are getting FHA loans due to better interest rates and fees, and easier qualification. You are probably looking at 4-6 weeks for an FHA loan. So, from acceptance of offer to close, it could be anywhere from 3-6 weeks.
I hope this helps to give you an idea of where to start. Please, ask me questions or make comments!